2 killed, 2 trapped in separate building collapses in India's Mumbai

NEW DELHI, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed and two others trapped Sunday in two separate building collapses in India's financial capital Mumbai, officials said.

Two people were killed and three others were injured on Sunday afternoon after a portion of a building collapsed on St Braz Road near Nanavati Hospital in Vile Parle Gaothan area of Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra.

Shortly after receiving the news about the building collapse, authorities sent the fire brigade, police and civic officials to the spot to carry out rescue work.

"This afternoon a portion of a building's balcony collapsed here. The rescuers pulled out five people from the debris and removed them to a nearby hospital," said an official of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the city's civic body.

"Of the five, doctors declared two (senior citizens) brought dead on arrival and admitted three others for the treatment."

Separately, a portion of a building collapsed in Ghatkopar area of the city in the morning.

According to BMC officials, four individuals trapped on the third floor have been successfully rescued. However, two persons were still believed to be trapped under the debris.

"The rescuers of the fire brigade and National Disaster Response Force personnel are carrying out the rescue work," Rashmee Lokhande, chief officer of the Disaster Management Department of the BMC, said.

The building collapses have taken place at a time when heavy spells of monsoon showers hit Mumbai, triggering waterlogging and inundation in some areas.

Officials said while the rescue operation at Vile Parle was called off, efforts at Ghatkopar were still going on until the last reports poured in.